Sanding device for railways and the like



C. SPENCER. SANDING DEVICE FOR RAILWAYS AND THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 22.1921.

1,404,904, Patented Jan. 31, 1922.

INvEmToR ilwriesS encer UNITEDSTATES rArEur orricri.

c atABLns srnncnie, or HAMILTON, o vre uo, CANADA.

SANDING DEVICE FOR RAILWAYS AND 'rnn nn.

inoaaoa.

' Application filed July 22,

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that 1, CHARLES SPENCER, a subject of the King of Great Britain, and a resident of the city of Hamilton, county of \Ventworth, Province of Ontario, Dominion of Canada, have invented certain new and. useful Improvements in Sanding Devices for Railways and the like, of which the following is a specification.

My invention. relates to improvements in sanding devices for railways and the like of the general type described in my co-pending United States application Serial No. 142,769 tiled on February 5th, 1921, and the object of the present invention is to provide an improved form in which the device may be made whereby certain weaknesses of the former construction are overcome, thus increasing the efficiency of the device and. also rendering the operation more reliable.

My invention consists of a sand container having the sides thereof tapering inwardly owards the bottom and provided with an orifice in the bottom thereof, an open ended tubular casing secured to the container and engaging said orifice, said casing comprising an open ended vertically disposed cup portion extending upwardly into the container, said cup tapering inwardly towards its lower open end, means for producing a downwardly directed suction through the cup, and a cone shaped cap loosely and resiliently supported above the upper end of the cup, the apex of said cone directed upwardly, all as hereinafter more particularly described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which;

Fig. 1 is a central vertical section of my improved device, a-portion of the pipe connection leading therefrom being broken away intermediately to economize space.

Fig. 2 is'a bottom plan View of a cone shaped cap used in my invention showing the supporting springs andlocating fingers carried thereby.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view of a portion of Fig. 1 showing the air connections of the device and also a pressure regulating plug.

Fig. 4 is an end view of this pressure regulating plug.

Like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the various views.

Specification of'Letters Patent. Patentgd Jan, 31, 1922,

1921. Serial No. 486,832.

1 is the sand container, the side walls 2 of which taper inwardly towards the bottom 3, the bottom having the orifice 4: therein.

5 is an open ended tubular casing constituting a suction member.

The upper portionof the casing 5 is cylindrical and carries the flange 6, and 7 and 8 are portions of this upper cylindrical portion disposed respectively above and below the flange 6.

9 are bolts engaging orificesin the flange (3 and in the bottom 3 for securing the casing 5 in position on the container.

lVit-hin the casing 5 andextending clownwardly from its upper end is formed the open ended cup 10. The upper section 10 of this'cup is cylindrical. Extending downwardly from the cylindrical portion 10 is an inwardly tapering portion 10 11 is a depending cylindrical skirt carried by the casing 5 and extending downwardly from the lower end of the tapering portion 10 of the cup 10. This skirt is concentric with and is in spaced relation to the internal bore 12 of the casing, which is cylindrical at this sect1on,thus an annular chamber 13 'is formed surrounding the skirt 11, said chamber being closed. at its upper end and constituting at its lower end an annular nozzle 14% surrounding the lower end of the skirt 11. l

The walls of the annular chamber 13 being concentric, it follows that this chamber is of constant width throughout its length.

The interior of the skirt 11, it will be noted, forms a cylindrical portion 10 of the cup 10 extending downwardly from the lower end of the tapered portion 10 The upper end of the annular chamber 13 is at the level of the bottom of the tapered portion 10 of the cup.

Extending downwardly, from the. nozzle 14 the bore of the casing 5 tapers outwardly as at 15 thus increasing the diameter of the bore of the casing towards the lower end thereof.

16 is a boss formed on the side of the easing and has the internally threaded orifice 17 extending therethrough and communicating with the top of the annular chamber 13.

The inner end of the orifice 17 is tapered at 17 for a purpose as will appear hereinafter.

from the edge A 18 is a pressure regulating plug threaded externally to engage the threaded orifice 1'? and is provided with an axial tending therethrough.

19 is a pressure pipe carrying compressed air or steam and is threaded to engage the orifice 17.

20 is a valve in the pipe 19 and would be situated to be operated by the motorman or engineer, 20 being the operating handle of the valve.

The lower end of the casing 5 is threaded at 21- to receive a suitable pipe 22, the lower end of which is situated directly above the rail 23.

24 is a cone shaped cap resiliently supported upon the upper end of the casing 5 by means of the bent springs 25. There are three of these springs spaced equally about the cone and being secured to the inner face of the cone by the rivets 25 26 are locating fingers spaced equally about the cone and secured to the inner face thereof by the rivets 26 'These fingers extend downwardly from the cone and engage the wall of the cylindrical portion 10* of the cup 10 being so disposed that a certain degree of lateral freedom is permitted to the cone.

The under edges 26 0f the heads of the fingers 26 lie in the plane of the base of the cone for a purpose as will hereinafter ap pear. V

24 is the apex of the cone] The construction and operation of my invention is as follows:

The casing 5 is mounted in the sand container by passing it downwardly through the orifice 4 so that the cylindrical portion 8 engages the orifice. It is then secured in place by the bolts 9. The length of the boss 16 is such that the casing can be passed downwardly through the orifice 1.

The cone 24 is engaged with the upper end of the casing so that the locating fingers 26 pass into the cup 10 and the springs 25 engage the upper edge of the casing. (See Fig. 1.)

The pressure regulating plug 18 is screwed into the orifice l7 and its inward travel is limited by thetapered portion 17 of the orifice.

The pipe 19 carrying the pressure fluid,

' such as compressed 'air or steam is then conneoted.

The pipe 22 is engaged with the lower threaded portion of the casing 5.

Consider now the container to be filled with sand. 1

Normally when the device is inoperative the sand will not enter the cup 10, but will lie at rest on an inclined surface extending at the base of the cone to the outer top edge 13 of the casing. This line is indicated in Fig. 1.

orifice 18 eX- If now the valve 20 be opened by the motormam a current of compressed air will rush through the pipe 19 and orifice 1 1 in the plug 18 into the top of the annular chamber 13, then pass downwardly through this chamber and in rushing past the nozzle 14: will create a partial vacuum at the bottom of the skirt at C.

This will induce, by suction, a current of air to pass downwardly from the container and through the cup 10, that is a downwardly directed suction will be created in the cup 10.

This suction will immediately draw sand from the container into the cup and dueto the peculiar shape and proportion of the cup, it will quickly be filled and whenthe valve 20 is closed the, sand in the cup will flow downwardly by gravity from the 'member 5 through the pipe 22 to the rail upon which it will be quietly deposited.

In former sanding devices it has been found that great difiiculty has been caused by the packing of the sand thus causing it to cake interfering seriously with the flow and in many cases stopping it altogether.

The overcoming of this has been one of the chief objects of my present invention and has been primarily accomplished by the cone-shaped cap 24. and the .method of i'nounting it. 7

This cap is freely supported on the cup and may slide laterally a certain amount since the locating fingers 26 permit this freedom, 7

Further the springs 25 render the supporting of the cone resilient and'therefor during the operation of the device whenever the suction is produced the cone moves downwardly and when the suction is released it again moves upwardly. The edges 26 of the fingers 26 limit the downward movement of the cone. 7

also the passage of the car over the rough road bed or overthe rail joints will cause the cap to shake about over the top of the cup.

This vibrating action of the cone taken in conjunction with its sharp conical shape provides a means of keeping the sand about the cone loose and free flowing as the sharp pointed apex of the cone practically cuts its way through the sand.

Further the locating fingers 26 being made of thin strips of metal form knives which obstructed straight passageway is provided through the device thus rendering the clogging of the device practically impossible. l'iurther the cap at is not fastened in any way to the remainder of the device but may be freely lifted out by hand.

Thisis a most important feature since it enables the sand to be deposited quietly upon the rail with no tendency of being blown off by the current of air.

The provision of the pressure regulating plugs permit any one device to be adapted to any pressure, since a number of these plugs would be supplied each having a differentsized orifice 18 and by fitting the correct plu the pressure in the supply pipe 19 may be throttled down so as to produce the desired operating pressure in the annular chamber 13. It will readily be seen that this will provide a means of at all times operating the device under the most economical and efficient con ditions and that these plugs 18 virtually constitute economizers.

W'hile, of course, the device might be operated continuously by holding the valve 20 open thus causing a continuous suction through the cup with a continuous flow of sand, it is not intended that the device be operated in this manner since a more economical and efficient operation is obtained by the intermittent opening and closing of the valve.

When the valve is held open continuously the sand does not pass from the cup to the rail entirely by gravity but is partly blown by the current of air from the nozzle.

In this case however, due to thepeculiar shape of the cup 10 whereby it tapers wardly towards its bottom end it has been found that the stream of sand flowing from the bottom of the cup has a throttling effect on the current of air passing through the portihn of the casing and therefore the action of this current of air in blowing the sand towards the rail is considerably reduced from that existing informer de vices and thus a quieter delivery of the sand upon the rail is obtained.

It is intended that the valve be operated intermittently thus creating an intermittent instead of a continuous suction.

In this case the operation is as follows.

lit has been found by experiment that the sand is drawn most rapidly into the cup during the initial moments of the action of the suction. Therefore, when the valve 20 is first opened and the downward suction is produced in the cup the maximum pull is exerted on the sand and the sand is therefore drawn most rapidly into the cup during this initial period.

Owing to the peculiar shape of the cup with its restricted lower portion, it very -'apidly fills with sand, which sand after the valve 20 is closed flows by gravity to the rail.

The valve 20 would be opened and closed intermittently thus producing a series of intermittent suction impulses. pulse the cup 10 would be filled with sand, the period during which the sand flows from the cup to the rail coinciding with the period during which the valve is closed so that at this time there is no current of air flowing through the nozzle and therefore there is no blowing of the sand to the rail but it flows entirely by gravity.

in this construction there are no baflles or turns in the pipes carrying the sand to the rails and therefore no tendency to become clogged up.

In mounting the device on the container, a tightjoint wouldbemade at the connection of the portion 8 with the orifice a: in order to prevent any moisture which would be thrown up by the wheels of the car from creeping up past this joint into the interior of the container.

Swing to the shape of the annular chamber 13, it will clear itself and there will be no likelihood of particles of rust or such like clogging the nozzle 14:.

From the foregoing it will be noted that l have devised valuable improvements in sanding devices which will greatly increase their economy and efficiency.

l l' lllil l claim as my invention is:

1'. .lna sanding device for railways and the like, the combination with the sand container and the sand therein, of an open ended tubular casing communicating with the interior of the container, means for producing a suction within said tubular member, and a cone shaped cap loosely and resiliently supported within the container above the open end of the tubular casing.

thelilze', the combination with the sand container and the sand therein, of an open ended tu 'ilar casing communicatin with the interior of the container, a cone shaped capsui u'iorted within the container above the upper open end of the tuluiilar casing, and inc-ans for permitting raising and lowering of the cone shaped cap slightly upon the operation of the device.

8. in a sanding device for railways and the like, the combination with the sand container and the sand therein, of an open ended tubular casing communicating with the interior of the container, a cone shaped cap loosely and resiliently supported within the container above the upper open end of the tubular casing, and means for permitting raising and lowering of the cone shaped cap slightly upon the operation of the device.

a. In a sanding device for railways and the like, the combination with the sand container, of an open ended tubular casing com- At each im- 2,. In a sanding device for railways and municating with the interioroi' the container and extending upwardly thereinto,

the up ,er portion or said casin constitutiru .4. A b C) at its upper end and forming at its lower.

end an annular nozzle surrounding the lower open end oi the cup, a pipe communicating with the upper closed end of the annular chamber, a valve in said pipe, and a coneshaped cap loosely and resiliently supported within the container above the upper open end or": the tubular casing.

In a sanding device for railways and the like, the combination with the sand container, of an open ended trdiular casing communicating with the interior of the container and extending upwardly thereinto, the upper portion otfsaid casing constituting an open ended cup, said cup comprising an upper cylindrical portion, an intermediate inwardly tapering port-ion and a lower oylindrical portion of the diameter of the smaller lower end of the tapering portion, a

concentric annular chamber surrounding the lower cylindrical portion of the cup, the annular chamber being closed at its upper end and forming at its lower end an annular nozzle surrounding the lower open end of the cup, a pipe communicating with the upper closed end of the annular chamber, a valve in said pipe, and a coueshaped cap loosely and resiliently si'ipported within thecontainer above the upper open end of the tubular casing.

V 6. In a sanding device for railways and the like, the combination with the sand container, or" an open ended tubular casing communicatingwith the interior Or the container and extending upwardly thereinto, the upper portion of said casing constituting an open ended cup, said cup comprising an upper cylindrical portion, an intermediate inwardly tapering portion and a lower cylindrical portion of the diameter of the smaller lower end of the tapering portion, a

concentric annular chamber surrounding the lower cylindrical portion of the cup, the annular chamber being closed at its upper end and forming at its lower end an annular nozzle surrounding the lower open end of the on 3. the tubular casing extendin below said 4 L1 h i nozzle and the bore thereof tapering outwardly from said nozzle to the lower end of the casing, the casing provided with a passageway communicating with the upper closed end of the annular chamber, pressure reducing means in said passageway, an inlet pipe engaging the outer endot' said passage way, a shut off valve in said pipe, and a coneshaped cap loosely and resiliently supported within the container above the upper open end of the tubular casing.

7. In a device of the class described a hollow cone-shaped cap, depending lingers secured to the inner face ot the cone along the lower edge thereof and equally spaced about the circumference, bent spring strips securedto the inner face of the cone along its lower edge and equally spaced about the circumference between the aforesaid depending fingers, said spring strips being bent outwardly and inwardly in U-shape. v 8. In a sanding device for railways and the like, the combination with the sand container, of an open ended tubular casing co1n-= municating with the interior of the container and extending upwardly thereinto, means for producing a downwardly directed suction throughthe tubular member, a'hollow cone-shaped cap, depending fingers secured to the inner face of the cone along the lower edge thereof and equally spaced about the circumlierence, bent spring strips secured to the inner face of the cone along its lower edge and equally spaced about the circumi'i'erence between the aforesaid depending fingers, said spring strips being bent outwardly and inwardly in U-shape, said cone-shaped cap supported within the container above and in spaced relation to the upper open end of the tubular casing, the depending fingers extending freely down into the interior oi the casing and the under faces of the U- shaped springs freely resting on the top edge of the tubular casing.

CHARLES SPENCER.

Witnesses JOHN G. HAYWARD, NoRninN GoLEs. 

